Postecoglou's Explosive Outburst: Werner's 'Unacceptable' Performance Sparks Tottenham Hotspur Crisis?

Pressure has been building around Ange Postecoglou, with inconsistent results being a key frustration among the Tottenham Hotspur fanbase. Spurs’ manager needed his players to show they have the character to build some momentum, with a Europa League trip to Rangers’ fiery Ibrox stadium being as good of an examination of any player’s quality and commitment. While the result was disappointing, Thursday evening’s hard-fought 1-1 draw was not catastrophic to their hopes of progressing. However, in Postecoglou’s eyes, one player comprehensively flunked that test of responsibility. Timo Werner was hauled off at half-time, with his manager particularly scathing about the 28-year-old’s performance.

Postecoglou Condemns Werner's First-Half Showing

Postecoglou labels Werner performance 'not acceptable' in draw with Rangers. “He wasn’t playing anywhere near the level he should,” Postecoglou said after the game. “When you’ve got 18-year-olds, it’s not acceptable. I said that to Timo. He’s a senior international. In the moment we’re in right now, it’s not like we’ve got many options. I need everyone to at least be going out there trying to give the best of themselves. His performance in the first half wasn’t acceptable.” Perhaps there were actions Postecoglou was witnessing in Werner’s performance that were not captured in the television coverage — be it his body language, his communication, or his out-of-possession positioning. Whatever the reason, a lack of consistent game time is likely to be a symptom and a cause of Werner’s lack of cutting edge, with just 15 league starts since the start of last season — completing a total of two games in that period. So, what exactly was Postecoglou referring to when chastising Werner’s performance in Glasgow? Crucially, was it a fair assessment from Spurs’ manager?

Analyzing Werner's Performance: Was Postecoglou's Criticism Justified?

It was not as if Werner was shying away from the action in the first half, with 39 touches being the fourth-most of any Spurs player in the opening 45 minutes. As The Athletic’s player dashboard shows, the Germany forward made more progressive carries than anyone on the pitch across the whole game. The issue was, of his 29 passes attempted, just 18 of them were complete — the lowest pass completion of any Spurs player in the first half. Pacy forwards are not known — or relied upon — for their ball retention. Still, in an aggressive, daunting atmosphere, there were early opportunities to set the tone with good decision-making. Unfortunately for Werner, those opportunities were not taken. Within seconds of kick-off, Werner found himself in space to receive the ball on the left flank after a simple switch of play. Driving towards Rangers’ captain James Tavernier, there was a chance to lift his head and play a cross towards the penalty spot. Instead, Werner kept his head down before a loose touch saw Tavernier win the first duel of the game. That was the theme of the first half, with Werner struggling to push past Tavernier in possession as he repeatedly ran into an attacking cul-de-sac. There was a similar example after nine minutes. Werner’s head is down — unable to assess his options — with Rangers’ right-back duly stepping in to stifle the attack. The mitigating factors here are that Tavernier is a strong one-v-one defender and Spurs did not have sufficient support on the left flank during this attack, yet Werner did find himself running into dead ends. Going the other way, Tavernier had some joy, running beyond Werner on multiple occasions. A weak tackle against right-winger Vaclav Cerny didn’t help either, with Werner lacking the aggression to stifle an opposition attack. When attacking support did arrive for Werner, he played some positive passes to James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur, who made underlapping runs. His best action also came after getting the better of Tavernier in the penalty area, before driving a low cross to the onrushing Brennan Johnson, whose shot was saved excellently by Jack Butland. Postecoglou’s biggest frustration must have been Werner’s decision-making as Spurs were building attacks. Forwards are expected to lose possession when looking to create, but there were too many occasions when Werner lost the ball under little pressure. There were growing frustrations from his team-mates, with the example below showing Yves Bissouma drifting over to the left flank with the ball in an attempt to release Werner. Rangers’ Cerny did a good job of blocking the passing lane, but Werner made little attempt to shuffle along to offer an option for the pass. The result? A backward pass from Bissouma and a berating comment to Werner for his troubles. Another notable frustration came at the end of the first half when Bentancur found himself in a position to cross from the right. Postecoglou places a lot of focus on back-post chances from his wingers, and being in a position to get on the end of crosses is crucial. When Bentancur plays the cross, Werner is not even in the frame, never mind the penalty area. As the ball bounces up for Tavernier to clear for a corner, Werner is well behind the play with no chance of receiving from the cross. The final straw might have come from the most salient example of the evening. With an opportunity to counter-attack after Fraser Forster claimed the ball, a driven pass from Spurs’ goalkeeper found the path of Werner scurrying over the halfway line. Instead of keeping the move alive, Werner saw the ball run out of play after a first touch that would not have been out of place on a Sunday league pitch.

Werner's Inconsistent Form and Future at Tottenham

Such frustration is probably also compounded by Werner’s past displays of talent. He was highly coveted by Europe’s elite clubs after 28 Bundesliga goals for RB Leipzig in the 2019-20 season. Following a move to Chelsea, a return to Leipzig, and a subsequent loan to Spurs, he has come nowhere near to replicating that blistering form. He has not been given a consistent run in the team during much of that period but the increasing evidence suggests his 2019-20 season was more of an exception than the rule when assessing his overall career output. So, was Postecoglou harsh to single Werner out? A little, especially during a half where mistakes were littered across the team as Spurs failed to exert any consistent dominance. However, the cold fact is that Werner does not have enough credit in the bank in a Spurs shirt to warrant a justifiable defence for his ongoing struggles. The most worrying thing is arguably that the comments were not a huge surprise. The future of Timo Werner at Tottenham remains uncertain following this incident and the overall performance. The lack of consistent game time and the manager's public criticism highlight a concerning situation for the player. Only time will tell whether he can regain his form and secure a place in the starting XI. His contributions to the team are crucial, and the team's overall performance depends on the consistency of every player.